Marry Me In Marigolds
by Genji
Summary: A sad poem ficlet, as Heero packs up the remains of his life with Duo and remebers what led them to part.


Title: Marry Me in Marigolds  
Part: 1/1  
Date: December 1, 2000  
Author: Genji (genji_15@excite.com)   
Status: Final   
Category: Fic  
Rating: PG  
Pairings: 1 + 2  
Warnings: Shounen-ai, deathfic  
Feedback: You know you want to.  
Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own any of the characters. However, the poetry is mine  
Notes: I first got the phrase, and it just wrote itself.   
  
Heero was about done packing, all he had left to do was clean out the closet. There were so many memories that he wanted leave behind. He walked into the closet and almost broke down. On the left was all of Duo's clothing. It had been so long since he had seen the trademark black slacks, and it brought a pain to the young man's heart.  
  
Everything had to go, of course. A buyer had been found and everything left would be thrown away. Sentiments are of little value to others. Gently, Heero folded each midnight article. They would all go into storage, everything of Duo's would be sent there in boxes. He started picking up the mismatched shoes and packed them neatly. He searched for any remaining pairs by passing his hand under the shelving in the back of the closet. Then his hand ran into it. Smooth, flimsy cardboard. It was a shoebox. The Japanese man pulled it out and started to put it with all the others, but he stopped. This wasn't right. Duo never kept his shoes in their boxes for long. The last 1/2 hour could attest to that. So, this new-found box was pulled back and placed in front of the silent youth. He pulled the top off and almost cried. Only Duo would keep such things. It was filled with yellow marigolds, painstakingly dried. On top was a piece of paper weighed down by a single red rose. Its Merlot petals appeared almost black at first, but on closer inspection, they were a dark, rich red. The bud was partially opened, but the heart, the center of it, remained closed. The thorns had not been removed, and Heero could hear Duo say, "A wild rose for my wild rose." They had been in one of the fields that belonged to the Winner estate. Heero had bent down and picked one of the yellow flowers that covered the field in a sunny blanket. A marigold.  
  
Heero put the rose down, releasing it from his tightly clenched fist. Drops of blood fell from where the thorns had pierced his skin. He picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it. In Duo's looping handwriting, he read the American's attempt at poetry.  
  
flashback...  
  
{Marry me in marigolds  
And I'll be yours forever.}  
  
"Whatcha thinking, Hee-chan?" Duo lay on the ground staring quizzically up into his lover's face.  
  
"How long have we known each other?"  
  
"Easy. Five years. Can't ya count?"  
  
"Hai." He pulled another bunch of flowers from the ground. "Two flowers, one plant."  
  
"Huh? You're talking mumbo-jumbo, again."  
  
"Look, two flowers come from one stalk."  
  
"Say! You're right! And this affects me how?  
  
"Two bodies, one heart."  
  
"Um, Heero? Flowers don't have hearts.  
  
Heero looked up. "You're right, but..."  
  
"What?"  
  
Heero reached into his pocked and pulled out a silver band. He held it out to the American, who grinned from ear to ear. He slipped it on, his eyes answering the unspoken question. A small smile passed briefly over the man's lips. His lover reached up and pulled him down in a passionate kiss. When they broke, Duo whispered, "I'm yours forever." Heero nodded, internalizing the comment before attacking the mouth of his koi.  
  
...end flashback  
  
//But he lied. He promised forever, but where is he now?//  
  
However, he refused to linger upon the thought, and read on.  
  
{Take away the roses.  
They have no real place here  
With sharpened thorns   
That shed my blood  
And hurt my heart  
When touched}  
  
Heero thought helplessly back to that one major fight during their engagement. It had been over something stupid, he couldn't remember now. However, he had remembered that all Duo had done was run out of the house into the pouring rain. He had never given up on him, the 'perfect soldier' who was learning once more how to feel. Duo had come back, an hour later, dripping wet, and the beginnings of a cold to boot. Heero hadn't apologized, and Duo hadn't pressed, but the Japanese youth's heavy heart had been lightened when he had seen the silver band, still gleaming on the braided teen's hand.   
  
flashback...  
  
{Baby's breath, a pretty flower  
Small and ashen white.  
Yet they mock our love,  
They mock our plight,  
With the name of something  
That we can never have.}  
  
"What about kids?"  
  
"What do you mean, what about kids? They're ok, I guess. But the dribble. Dribble over everything, the bane of the organization freak. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I'm not a freak."  
  
"Ok, fine. You're the organization special person. Happy?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Hee-chan, you're never happy, are you?"  
  
"I am now."  
  
"An' how does that expression differ from you're 'I'm-really-mad-so-get-out-of-my-way' one?"  
  
"hn."  
  
"Let me see...kids...they're ok, I guess. Never really thought about it before."  
  
"What about family?"  
  
"Heero, you are my family. Along with the other guys, of course, but in a different way, you and I aren't related!"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"No, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei aren't related to me either. You really shouldn't jump to conclusions. What I meant was they feel like brothers to me. You're different."  
  
"Do you want to have kids?"  
  
"I suppose one of these days, I'd like to have 'em. But I don't think that's possible if things are going the way they are."  
  
"We can try a surrogate."  
  
Duo shook his head. "No, I want our child to be half me and half you. Not anyone else."  
  
...end flashback  
  
{Lilies, beautiful and pure  
So delicate to touch.  
The final flower that we see  
When laid beneath the earth.}  
  
The images of lilies, snowy white and laid upon a coffin struck a chord in the young man, and he wondered if Duo had had a premonition of what would happen that fateful day two years ago. That was the day he had been left standing at the alter. The youth forcefully banished that painful memory.  
  
{But marigolds, sweet marigolds  
These flowers last a single year  
So ours will never yet return  
But still our flame eternal  
Will forever burn.}  
  
//You're right, Duo, I still love you, even after what happened.// He picked up one of the petrified blooms and brought in under his nose, letting the ancient perfume drift up to invade his sense. No matter what happened, Duo would always be his only flame. He had tried for two years to forget that smiling face, but he couldn't and had given up all hope.  
  
{These blooms I hold are special  
As special as can be  
They bloomed just once, and only once  
But bloomed for you and me.}  
  
Duo had picked these flowers, his scent mingled with the odor of the dusky dried marigolds. If Heero closed his eyes, he could remember it all too well.  
  
flashback...  
  
Duo got up from where he had been sitting. The sun was setting, casting a glowing red fiery light that played among the blooms. Heero watched the youth as he dusted himself off. The boy straightened up and turned to look down at his sitting companion.   
  
"You coming, or not?"  
  
Heero shook his head.   
  
"Fine. Suit yourself." Duo had walked away through the marigold field. Every so often pausing to pick something up, but Heero couldn't tell in the dimming light. He closed his eyes and thought about how lucky he was to have Duo as his lover. He smiled slightly, he'd ask Duo properly tonight.  
  
~*~  
  
{Marry me in marigolds  
And I'll be yours forever.}  
  
"Marry me," came the whisper next to Duo's ear.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Marry me."  
  
"Haven't we been through this before? Am I stuck in one of those dimensions where time keeps repeating itself? Not that this is something I'd regret to live with every day, but then what if I say no, and then time moves on like it normally should? Yes, like I said before."  
  
"You didn't say it."  
  
"Well, you didn't ask. So we're even."  
  
"Not quite..."  
  
On the table in the kitchen, down the hall from the bed that contained the two engaging lovers, was a vase filled with bright yellow marigolds.  
  
~*~  
  
{I do not want to die no more  
I do not choose to lose more blood  
Or bring a child into this farce  
Filled with pain and death and lust.}  
  
"I don't want a big wedding, Duo."  
  
"I don't want one either."  
  
"Elope."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Let's run away."  
  
"This isn't like you, Heero. It's actually *gasp* spontaneous."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you at the church in 20 minutes, I gotta grab my stuff at home."  
  
"Church?"  
  
"Yeah. You know those things with the pointy towers and sticks made into a plus sign? That's a church."  
  
Heero shook his head, "No. They don't approve of same sex marriages. As much as one might want, only a justice of the peace will do it."  
  
"Fine, the courthouse in 20 minutes."  
  
Duo got up and left.   
  
~*~  
  
Heero was waiting before the bench where the justice sat, bored, waiting for the other groom to show up. He never did. After two hours, of waiting, Heero turned and walked away.  
  
~*~  
  
The medical examiner pulled the drawer open for the silent man dressed in a tux. It looked like he had been at some black tie affair when he got the message. She pulled back the sheet and the man nodded.   
  
"Would you like some time alone?"  
  
The tux wearing youth nodded solemnly and the doctor walked away.   
  
{Marry me in marigolds  
And I'll be yours forever.}  
  
Heero caressed the longhaired man's jaw line, and pulled the sheet further back to reveal the mangled chest where the steering wheel had entered. Silently, he put a bunch of marigolds right at the base of the sternum, and covered up the stalks with the two limp hands. He had meant to give it to his new husband in life, now he would only receive them in death. He pulled the sheet back over Duo's head, closed the door, and walked away.  
  
...end flashback  
  
Tears fell silently down Heero's cheeks. He hadn't cried then; he thought he was over what had happened to Duo. That wretched car crash had occurred because the airbag had malfunctioned and Duo hadn't pressed the break in time to stop, since his mind was so focused upon reaching that courthouse, and had rear-ended another horse trailer at a high speed. One of the horses had died, and the other had been so hurt it had to be put to sleep.   
  
Heero fought to gain control of his emotions, the thing he always did when he felt this desolate. No one could know that he still hurt, two years after it had all happened. He closed the shoebox and placed it in the box with all the other shoes. He taped the larger box shut, and started meticulously cleaning out his half of the closet.   
  
~*~  
  
{Marry me in marigolds  
And I'll be forever yours...}  
  
~Owari~  



End file.
